Sajid Javid says he is NOT planning to change house buying rules

Sajid Javid says he is NOT planning to change house buying rules so sellers have to pay stamp duty instead of buyers

  • Chancellor Sajid Javid hinted that he would make home sellers pay stamp duty
  • The policy shift would have meant first-time buyers avoiding paying the tax
  • But Mr Javid poured cold water on the idea today, saying he ‘wouldn’t support’ it 

Sajid Javid said he is not planning to change house buying rules so sellers have to pay stamp duty instead of buyers. 

It comes after the Chancellor hinted he would make home sellers pay stamp duty in a boost to first time buyers yesterday.

The switch would have meant mean first-time buyers avoiding paying the tax and helping families looking to buy larger properties.

But the shift would have meant bigger tax bills for property owners looking to downsize.

The Chancellor hinted he would make home sellers pay stamp duty in a boost to first time buyers yesterday

Now Mr Javid appeared to pour cold water on the idea saying he ‘wouldn’t support’ putting stamp duty on sellers. 

In a tweet today, he said: ‘More speculation about stamp duty this morning.

‘To be clear I never said to @thetimes I was planning to put it on sellers, and I wouldn’t support that.

‘I know from @mhclg that we need bold measures on housing – but that isn’t one of them.’

It comes as the Chancellor is set to cut taxes in the upcoming budget after declaring he is a ‘low tax guy’

Mr Javid appeared to pour cold water on the idea stamp duty would be put on sellers

Mr Javid appeared to pour cold water on the idea stamp duty would be put on sellers

‘I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t thinking seriously about how do we use [that opportunity],’ he told The Times.

Asked about taxes for higher earners, he said: ‘Wait and see for the Budget. But it wouldn’t be any surprise that I think taxes should be efficient. 

‘We want to set them at a rate where we are trying to maximise revenue, and that doesn’t always mean that you have the highest tax rate possible.’

Mr Javid said he had yet to decide whether the Budget will be before the October 31 Brexit date.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk